Beyond “Hello, [City!]”: Elevating Your Brand Localization Strategy

“Hello, [City!]” is the most common way for brands to highlight localization. And it has been for a while.

Somewhat reminiscent of an airport welcome sign or a rock star trying to remember where he is during a concert, this is a straightforward way for brands to strive for local engagement.

But is it the best way?

The rise of “show, don’t tell” in localization strategy

Fueled by immersive design trends, retailers, banks and other branded business spaces in recent years have sought to create customer engagement through experiences rather than marketing narration.  

This branding strategy uses the retail or branch space to illustrate the product or service integrated into consumers’ day-to-day lives. 

Brands seeking localization want to personalize a distinct customer relationship – to say, “We know you and serve you as an individual and member of this community.”

So, while “Hello, [City!]” is a start, it feels generic, with more than a little bit of parody potential.

A better choice is to foster a sense of community inside branded spaces with more subtle, modern and ultimately effective methods, such as:

A 50-foot wall inside a TD Bank branch nestled in the Emerald Necklace Park system, near Boston’s iconic Fenway Park.

Intertwine brand & location: Deft designers can intermingle on-brand logos, colors and verbiage with state symbols, city skylines, sports teams, revered local monuments or anything else that tells locals, “We know you. We’re on your side.”

It’s in the numbers: Lean into “IYKYK” messaging…  even though some of your audience might not know If You Know, You Know. A first choice is area codes. If you’re Gen X or older, you might think this is Ludacris – and a few years ago, it was – but a vast majority of the 18- to 35-year-olds in Topeka, Salt Lake City or Knoxville know where 310, 212 or 404 area codes are. This also could include zip codes or even longitude/latitude. It’s about making a creative connection that inspires a pause… and then a smile.

Local color: If you went hard with your crimson and white colors in Auburn, Ala., you might not earn a branding high-five. Same with maize and blue in Columbus, Ohio. Local sports teams, whether pro, college or even high schools, matter for local businesses. If you understand the culture behind them, you can make connections, even if this localization process means taking a neutral stance between rivals.  

Fifth Third Bank located in Chicago, Illinois. 

Material selection: By using recognizable materials, such as subway tile in New York City, industrial elements in Chicago, oak wood in Charleston or seashells for coastal locations, you can be creative in a way to show understanding of a region. Of course, it’s important to understand procurement, shipping and installation costs before you go too far down the design path.

Local artists: Even with scaled brand refreshes, rebrands or new builds, you can budget specifically to incorporate local art. Informed planning and disciplined execution are critical. Another option is to curate customized art featuring your location. A tip? Use the original art piece in a flagship location, then duplicate it with less expensive materials for easy scalability.

Citizens is passionate about corporate sponsorships. They want more from their event marketing than simply placing their logo on a building, a venue or a piece of swag. With a 30-foot by 40-foot space as our blank canvas, Miller Zell’s experience team focused on developing an engaging, interactive design.

Community outreach: Create a brand activation playbook and strategy for community events outside your business spaces. This sets standards for taking your brand on the road to events, whether a small branded presence or a significant installation at a major event. Understand the event and audience before you start, while ensuring your design adheres to brand consistency with logos, colors, fonts, images, primary and secondary slogans and verbiage.

Never lose focus on ROI

Yes, localization is about connecting with a specific community of customers. But, like everything else in business, it’s about the bottom line.

Successful localization strategy provides value and is backed by market research. This elevated, targeted customer experience should translate to customer loyalty and increased revenue.

To remain on track, consider these points:

• Be strategic. Not every branch or store will reward localization efforts. Some locations will be purely transactional, and their customers might greet localization efforts with a smirk. Create tiers for localization investments, recognizing that not all locations improve with localization.
  
  
• Thoroughly review the localized design. Make sure there aren’t any potential unanticipated issues, such as misunderstanding local culture or sudden rises in material costs.
  
  
• How far can you take abstraction? And how obvious is too obvious? Not knowing the answers might lead to you becoming viral on social media for the wrong reasons.
  
  
• Is it cost-effective to use an internal team? Do they have the bandwidth and knowledge to complete the job on-time, on-budget and on-brand and be effective? Or might it be better to hire a partner with extensive experience with branding, design, localization and rollout?

These considerations will help you establish expectations and cohesive thinking and set the stage for seamless execution.

Localization is about establishing and connecting your brand within a variety of communities. When your branch or store fleet is national or covers a large and diverse region, it requires disciplined creativity and agile execution.  

It’s not always easy. But when done right, it elevates your brand and generates revenue growth.